University of Colorado faculty members are circulating an online petition that asks CU President Bruce Benson to push for legislative changes to keep guns off the school's campuses.

As of Friday, the petition had garnered about 870 signatures with a goal of at least 1,000. Organizers are collecting signatures from employees, students, parents and community members who are concerned about guns being allowed on CU's campuses in Boulder and elsewhere.

Last year, the Colorado Supreme Court struck down CU's long-standing gun ban, allowing those with concealed-carry permits to bring their weapons on campus and into classrooms and labs. Guns, however, are banned in dorms and at ticketed events such as football games and concerts.

State Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, introduced a bill that would add higher education buildings to the list of places where Colorado's Concealed Carry Act doesn't apply.

But it's unlikely CU will lobby on gun measures, mostly because its Board of Regents is divided on the issue. Republicans have a 5-4 majority on the board.

CU system spokesman Ken McConnellogue said Benson has talked with faculty members and is aware of petitions that have been circulating.

"An issue like this requires a conversation with the Board of Regents and direction from the regents on whether we support this legislation or not," McConnellogue said.

The board has not taken up the issue this year.

The petition, authored by professors Julie Carr, Karen Jacobs and Katherine Little, of the Boulder campus, and Chad Kautzer, of the Denver campus, asks Benson to work with the Legislature "to return jurisdiction over the regulation of firearms on campuses to the CU Board of Regents."

The petition being circulated states: "As faculty members of the University of Colorado community, we believe that the presence of firearms on campus undermines the educational mission of our institution by threatening public safety and degrading what has been a vibrant and inclusive learning environment. We, therefore, seek legislative change to re-institute a firearms ban on our campuses."

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